Your favorite Disneyland shows

Kieran vs. Darth Vader on Aug. 27, 2011

Yesterday I wrote about your favorite Disneyland rides. Interestingly, we didn't go on all that many rides whenever we visited Disneyland - maybe four or five at most. That's because we spent a lot of time doing other stuff there, like going to shows, shopping in stores, and playing together whenever we found fun interactive activities.

By far, your favorite two shows to attend were the Muppet Show 3D in California Adventure and the Jedi Academy in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. We went to the Muppet Show so many times that you actually started memorizing some of the lines/jokes (especially Fozzie the Bear's "waka waka!")!

You almost always were selected for the Jedi Academy. A couple of times, you even wore your Luke Skywalker costume when participating. After a while, you started memorizing all of the light saber moves they taught at the academy. The picture above is of you battling Darth Vader at one of the shows.

What memories do you have of these two shows?

Your favorite Disneyland rides

Francis Ladybug ride, Sept. 10, 2010

Saw an advertisement on a website for Disneyland and started thinking of all of the times we went there and what your favorite rides were.

By far, your favorite ride when you were 2-3 years old was the Mad Tea Party (or the "tea cups" as you called it) and then as a 3-4 year old, you loved the Francis Ladybug Boogie (or "the ladybug ride" as you called it) over in California Adventure. You'd ask to go on both rides over and over, and we'd get back in line and do them all again and again!

Other favorite rides that you always liked to go on - but were happy to do just once a visit - were: the Haunted House (but only when it was decorated for "The Nightmare Before Christmas"); It's a Small World; Monsters Inc. (at California Adventure); and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

What rides do you remember going on?

Up, up and away...my beautiful balloon

Hot air balloon over our house
in Lancaster, Calif.

Do you remember the hot air balloons that used to fly over the green house in Lancaster, Calif.? Usually on Sunday mornings, beginning around this time of year, a whole bunch of them would take off in the desert west of where we lived and fly over the house.

Though the balloons were some 1000 to 3000 feet above us in the sky, they were 75 feet tall so could easily be seen. Their brilliant rainbow colors looked very pretty against the clear blue sky as floating quietly upon the gentle wind.

I always wanted to take you to a balloon launching, as watching the them be filled with helium and then rise off the ground is an impressive sight. Wouldn't it be fun to go up in a hot air balloon?

Standing in front of a pteranodon

Here's a great photo of us I found in my files; I don't remember the name of the place, but it was on the coast in southern Oregon where you walk through the forest, which has a bunch of fake dinosaurs arranged in dioramas. Kind of kitschy, I know, but it was pretty drive and lots of fun! I'm a sucker for kitschy dinosaur displays, btw.

The trail through the displays started with concrete, so we took you in your stroller. Then the trail turned to dirt and got rough, so we had to carry you and bring the stroller back to the beginning!

Here we are in front of a pteranodon. We did this trip in September 2007, so you are only 6 months old! On the way back, we stopped for a nice meal at a restaurant in Brookings, Ore. We were living in Crescent City, Calif., at the time.

Our many Pacific Ocean adventures

June 20, 2011, Moonlight Beach,
in Encinitas, Calif.

Do you remember all of the times we went to the ocean? We went quite a number of times to the beach in Ventura and Encinitas and once to the beach in Carpenteria. We'd also do the boardwalk in Long Beach, and when you were an infant, you went to beaches in and around Crescent City.

You always liked to let the tide rush in at you and see if you could evade it by running away. Sometimes you were successful! Because you couldn't yet swim, I always had to make sure I held your hands so you wouldn't get knocked down and float away on me.

We also went to different aquariums that had fish, mammals and other animals that lived in the ocean. The Aquarium of the Pacific on Long Beach by far was your favorite. We also went once to the Birch Aquarium in San Diego and a couple of times to Sea World in San Diego.

Here's some pictures from a couple of those ocean adventures!

My email to you for March 9, 2013

Here is my email to you sent March 9, 2013, just in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran!

I hope this letter finds you well. I love and miss you very much. Grandma and Grandpa Bignell, Uncle Chris and Aunt Suzie and your cousins Bryan and Rebekah send their love, too, and wanted you to know that they can’t wait to meet you.

How is school going? When we last spoke, you said you were up to the letter R in Superkids. I bet that means you are up to the letters S and T now! I’m very excited that you’re learning your letters and ultimately how to read. It’ll be interesting hearing what you think about the books you’ve read. Maybe you’ll be able to read me a story instead of me reading you one! J

You also mentioned that you were learning about oceans. I bet that is a very exciting and an easy unit for you, as we used to go to the ocean all the time. You might remember that we used visit the beach in Ventura and Encinitas and also aquariums. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach was your favorite! There is an aquarium at the Mall of America and a small one at the Minnesota Zoo, both very close to where you live. Have you had a chance to visit them yet?

I believe you also said you were learning about money in your math class. I bet that is fun. Did you know that not all quarters look the same? While the fronts are the same with the head of our first president, George Washington, the backsides now have pictures from our 50 states. It’s fun to collect quarters of your favorite states. Can you guess what’s on the backside of Minnesota’s quarter? What states’ quarters would you like to see or collect?

On Monday morning you may find yourself very tired! That’s because we will be moving our clocks ahead one hour tonight. We move our clocks ahead in part so that we’ll have more sunlight in the morning when people get up. We actually skip an hour in time – and a lot of people lose an hour of sleep because of it! So go to bed a little earlier tonight to help your body adjust to the change in time.

You’ll want to check your closet and see if you have any green clothes to wear! Why? Because March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. On that day, people who are Irish celebrate their heritage and wear green, the favorite color of the country where the Irish come from, Ireland. We’re not Irish, but we still celebrate St. Patrick’s Day because it’s lots of fun, and the Irish played a very important role in the growth of our country.

Speaking of St. Patrick’s Day, I recently read a great book about the holiday. It was called “The Gold at the End of the Rainbow” by Loek Koopmans. The book is about a boy who’s your age – his name is Brendan – and his grandpa, who sail to an island looking for a treasure chest of gold. On the island they meet a leprechaun! Do you think they find any gold? You will have to read the book to find out! I bet you can find it at your school or city library.

Well, that is all for now. I am looking forward to seeing you again on March 29! I miss you!

Love,

Dad

Today we moved into our condo

One year ago today we moved into our condo in Palmdale...unfortunatley, our stay there was a short one.

You might recall that I didn't have any furniture as Jane planned to move in, and she was going to bring all of her stuff. So while we waited for Jane to arrive, the whole house was empty! I set up a table and chairs for me to work and us to enjoy our meals, and then moved in our toiletries, clothes and a few kitchen items. That made for a great playground! We had lots of space and used the whole condo as a giant playroom.

The place was quite pretty with some gorgeous trees outside, with the one by the stairwell to the main entry having purple blossoms. And who can forget the ice cream stand that was within walking distance!

Here's a whole bunch of photos of our condo!